The Stronger Form Of His Blade
by mokona206
Summary: .hack/GU Silabus Fanfic- Amongst the Haseo, Atoli, Silabus party trio, Silabus feels he's the weakest and a burden. He wishes to be as strong as Haseo or Atoli, but he doesn't have the "form" of strength they do. Until someone grants him a new form
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: Chapter 1 re-edited and Chapter 2 is up. This fanfic mainly features Silabus, but I put Haseo as second character in case because he's pretty important to this plot too and is often referenced/spoken about. The story is mostly friendship based (I apologize to any yaoi fans, as I am not experienced in that kind of writing). Hope you still enjoy!

_I want to become stronger...just like you Haseo_

Blade Brandier user Silabus sighed as he got revived for the 4th time by Harvest Cleric user Atoli from being defeated by a dungeon monster monster. He, Atoli, and their party leader/Adept Rogue user Haseo were attempting to get some solid training to help improve their levels. Even though it's been a long time since the tournaments were over, Haseo wanted to be ready for anything, and since the three of them had been through most of the rounds together he thought their teamwork would work out the best. But so far they hadn't made it halfway through the dungeon without Silabus taking a beating.

"RGGH, come on Silabus, pull it together! It's just a bunch of lousy monsters, you should be better than that," Haseo growled as he waited impatiently for the Blade Brandier to get back on his feet. Silabus gave a small apologetic smile.

"Sorry about that Haseo. My mistake, won't happen again!" Silabus replied in his usual optimistic self. Once Haseo made sure all their stats were back in order, he moved on without a word. As Silabus watched their leader started walking, he gave another sigh. This time, Atoli couldn't help but notice.

"Silabus, is something the matter?" The harvest cleric politely asked, eyeing Silabus with concern.

"H-Huh? Oh no! It's nothing to worry about, haha. We better catch up to Haseo before he gets too far." The blade brandier gave a shy smile and hurried off ahead. Atoli tried to figure out if something was wrong with him, and then remembered she had to catch up too before she gets left behind. She ran after them, putting Silabus' behavior aside for now.

After more rounds of Haseo's impatience, Atoli's healing spam, and Silabus getting beat up but luckily not dying again, the trio finally cleared the dungeon and reached the reward chest. Haseo kicked it open and raised an eyebrow.

"What is it Haseo?" Atoli asked.

"It's...a new weapon for a Blade Brandier. This one seems to have higher stats than yours Silabus, take it," Haseo offered as he opened up the trade function. Silabus was caught up in a daze that he didn't notice Haseo was talking to him.

"Uh, earth to Silabus, you there?" Haseo called, taking a step closer to him to check if he went AFK.

"What? Did you say something Haseo?" Silabus finally snapped back to reality.

"I'm offering you a new weapon from the rewards chest," Haseo repeated. "Man what's with you today?" Haseo crossed his arms and gave a little scowl.

"S-Sorry," Silabus exclaimed scratching his head. "Guess I'm a little tired." Haseo opened up the trade function again and transferred the new sword to Silabus.

"This was a pretty difficult dungeon huh?" Atoli added.

"Oh really? I didn't see anything difficult about it. It's right at our level, don't you think so Atoli?" Haseo asked.

"Yeah you're right, it is at our level..." Atoli realized. She didn't have much difficulty with the dungeon either, but she also didn't want to sound like Silabus seemed behind in battle.

"Well anyway were done here so lets head back to town," Haseo sighed as he headed first to the Chaos Gate, followed by Atoli, and lastly Silabus who hesitated for a moment.

At our level huh? That's easy for Haseo and Atoli to say, them being 3 levels higher than me. Oh well, guess I'll just have to try harder.

Delta Server Mac Anu

As Silabus appeared back in the Dome of Mac Anu, he noticed Haseo and Atoli weren't around. Huh? Where did they go? Did I take too long? Silabus panicked for a moment in fear that they had suddenly abandoned him until a notification popped up about a message sent by Haseo.

Haseo: Silabus, where are you? Did you forget we go to the Netslum now?

Oh yeah, Silabus remembered, there was a major incident that happened in the world where all of the root towns crashed and a town called Netslum appeared, and where the guild Canard was transferred to. Silabus quickly hurried to change towns.

Netslum Tartarga

When Silabus warped in, he felt relieved to see Haseo and Atoli waiting for him.

"Sorry, I got lost haha..." Silabus gave a weak laugh. Haseo merely shrugged.

"Now that we're all here, what to do next...up for another dungeon?" Haseo asked, but Atoli butted in.

"Haseo!" She hastily pulled him close to her as if to whisper like in RL, although she forgot that unless she uses whisper mode the words she says will still appear in text. "Don't you think you could give Silabus a little break? He's been through a lot today."

"O-Oh, really? I guess I should've thought about that more-and hey use the whisper mode! How many times do I have to tell you?" But it was already too late; Silabus had seen what they had said.

"Haha, it's alright Haseo, I'm up for another dungeon if you would like me to come along. I have to stop by the guild shop first, I think Gaspard should be there at the moment. I'll be right back." Silabus gave a small wave and passed through the door that leads to the rest of the Netslum. Once he was out of their sight, Silabus slumped his shoulders and gave another sigh.

I wish I could be as strong as them so I don't slow those two down...what is it that I'm lacking? Silabus wondered as he scratched his head and stared up towards Netslum's digital sky. He moved on to see Gaspard at the shop, unaware of being watched by a pair of mysterious eyes.

"So you want to become as strong as Haseo...Blade Brandier user Silabus," a voice chimed in the shadows. "Hee hee, this should be fun!"

When Silabus got to the guild shop, Shop Acorn, the place was already packed with business. Lately their guild Canard has gotten quite a bit of attention and fame over time that their guild shop was one of the top shops of the town. The reason was most likely due to Haseo being their guild master, and having won all three of the arena tournaments, the shop was bound to have good items. Although Haseo mostly fills up the stock with items he doesn't particulary need, Silabus thought. Silabus was going to say hi to Gaspard once business thinned out, but it was so busy that Gaspard didn't even notice Silabus standing amongst the crowd. Then Silabus noticed Gaspard was having so much fun, he didn't want to interrupt him and would probably just get in the way if he tried to help. So instead Silabus moved on to Canard's HOME.

But upon entering Canard's HOME, he didn't feel right at home either. There was so much on his mind, so much he wanted to do for his friends, but unaware of how he could pull it off. Silabus sighed as he sat down cross legged on the floor, _Haseo and Atoli are getting way above my level, and even Gaspard is better at running the shop than I am. But what about me? What can I do to be more useful? _The more Silabus tried to think about his usefulness, the larger headache he got. _I guess there's no use thinking more about this_, Silabus thought, _I'll just take a break and see if I got any emails. _


	2. Chapter 2

Yuuichi Morino groaned as he logged out of "The World" and leaned back in his computer chair. While he was more than happy to play with Haseo and the others in the game today, disappointment was weighing on his mind like a concrete brick. A notification alert went off on his computer extremely loudly that Yuuichi jumped and slipped off his chair, landing on a clutter of junk.

"Ugh, I really need to organize my room sometime," Yuuichi muttered as he pushed the junk off to the side. Instead of cleaning though, Yuuichi felt he needed a break from even his room because it was always so messy and since he wasn't playing in "The World" he couldn't ignore seeing it. So he decided to go for the next best solution for a break, jogging. Yuuichi always thought going out for a jog can help clear his thoughts whenever he's thinking to much, and the weather report stated that today is full of sunshine and a cool breeze. As Yuuichi slipped on his shoes, he took a glance at his portable gaming device he typically carries with him in case he gets bored and wants to jump right back into "The World". But today the device held a different vibe towards him, so he decided to leave it behind.

He jogged all around wherever he could, felt like going, or where his feet took him. While he was jogging, Yuuichi couldn't help but think a lot about what he did in "The World" today. Yuuichi was fully aware that Haseo had thought of him as annoying or a pain, but now he was starting to have doubts and even started estimating the possibility of Haseo actually hating him now.

"I wonder...how important am I to Haseo?" Yuuichi wondered as he stopped by a pond, staring deep into the glimmering sunlight reflection on the water's surface. "Haha, I hope I'm not the kind of person that gets toyed or is used as bait all the time."

He ran all the way home as fast as he could.

When he got back, Yuuichi slipped back into his chair to check out the alert after turning the volume down several notches. There were 2 unread emails in his inbox. As he opened his inbox, his attention snapped alert to see it was an email from Haseo.

_To: Silabus_

_From: Haseo_

_Subject: Rough Day?_

_Hey, um...thanks for, you know, coming with me and Atoli to that dungeon. Seems like you're kind of behind on the game huh? We'll try to work better next time. So in the meantime try to think of ways to improve...and...don't take it all out on yourself. Later._

Yuuichi read and reread the email several times until he memorized it, which he does with almost every email he's gotten from Haseo, even though he knows he'll never delete it. Such a thing might be strange for a guy to do, but for Yuuichi who loves "The World" and really admires Haseo it seems natural. He has been told several times that his personality allows him to be naturally friendly around others. As Yuuichi was trying to think of a good response to Haseo without giving away his troubles, his mind wandered to the other email in his inbox that made him forget about his reply.

_To: Silabus_

_From: Zelkova_

_Subject: Another Form_

_Hello Blade Brandier user Silabus! It is my pleasure to be talking to a proud member of the guild Canard under Haseo's leadership. _

Yuuichi was dumbfounded. _What in the world is the guild leader of the infamous Moon Tree emailing me for? And to be called a proud member of Canard, wow_. Yuuichi read on.

_You may already know this, but Haseo's leadership alone isn't enough to bring out the true potential of not only your guild, but also your team. Haseo needs support whether he will admit it or not, and the only ones who can give him the best support are his friends. You seem really close to Haseo, so I want to give you something really special that will help give Haseo the support he needs to bring out true potential. _

_I will be waiting for you at **Sigma Friendly Daring Skyline** at the beast statue. I should warn you that this is no ordinary dungeon. You will have to solo it alone and there is no set level, therefore the monsters you may face can range from LVL 1 to LVL 150. I have a strong confidence that you will be able to get through this dungeon, as long as you stay true to your own power. Good luck :3!_

_P.S. Don't tell anyone about this, especially Haseo. No one likes spoiled surprises._

After reading the email at least 3 times, Yuuichi had nothing but questions in his head. Instead of trying to answer them on his own, he decided to save them for Zelkova later when he gets to the beast statue. _But can I really do this? A dungeon all by myself, not to mention it could be of any level?_ Yuuichi scratched his head and shrugged. _Oh well, might as well give it a shot_, he thought confidently as he logged in.

**Netslum Tartarga**

When Silabus logged in, he immediately checked his member address list out of habit. Gaspard was offline and Atoli was busy (most likely with Moon Tree activities, which makes Silabus wonder about their guild leader), but Haseo was free. Silabus had a small urge to talk to him about the email he got, until he remembered that the task is a solo dungeon. _If I bring this up with Haseo, he'll most likely want to tackle it alone and think I'm too low level for it_. Silabus felt Haseo was always busy with so many important responsibilities, both in and out of the guild, so this time it was his turn.

"Alright, I may not be the guild master of Canard, nor an outstanding player as Haseo, but I am still a member of Canard. If I want to achieve my goal to help new players of The World I've got to become stronger. Yeah!" Silabus boosted his own confidence and entered in the area words to the Chaos Gate without hesitation.

**Sigma Friendly Daring Skyline**

"So I say...but perhaps this is a little..." Silabus mumbled to himself as he arrived at the solo dungeon by Moon Tree's guild leader Zelkova requested. While the dungeon isn't the spiral staircase design as the earlier dungeon was, the old ruins among a forest dungeon wasn't any better. Silabus recalled coming here once for a quest to hunt down a hound dog monster, so he was all too familiar with the traps that lay in the paths in parts of the dungeon. Normally, Haseo was able to help him get the timing right so he wouldn't risk losing any HP, or slowing the party down. This time Silabus is on his own. "It's okay, I've got this. It's not the first time I've been here," he reassured himself as he started to make his way through.

The first path was clear, no traps. As Silabus entered the first room, he automatically spotted the first group of monsters. It was a party of LVL 1 Vak Bezels.

"Level 1? Piece of cake!" Silabus finished the battle in a flash with no trouble. When he was about to move on, his head suddenly flashed an old memory. "Huh?" Silabus remembered that those Vak Bezels were similar to the ones that he encountered with Haseo and Gaspard on their very first adventure together in "The World". In his mind, Silabus could see Haseo using the skill trigger and rengeki like a skilled player. Silabus laughed to himself for remembering such a memory. _It almost feels like it happened recently instead of a long time ago_. Then Silabus remembered another thing.

"Oh no! I forgot Zelkova is waiting for me at the beast statue! I better hurry!" Silabus quickly ran to continue on, nearly falling for a sudden trap of a giant swinging axe.

XXXX

Back at Netslum, Haseo tapped his foot a little impatiently. _Where is he? _

Haseo had been itching to go out and train again at another area, but with Atoli busy, the typical Team Haseo trio would be one short, not to mention a cleric short. Haseo was going to have to put it off when he thought, _maybe instead of trying to improve my level, I can take Silabus to an area more suitable for his level. Using items to support us will be no problem, and he'll be able to get more used to the dungeons and monsters as the levels increase._ Haseo smiled, _won't he be surprised when he finds out this idea I got._

That was the plan until Haseo couldn't even find his Blade Brandier friend. He tried short mail, but for some reason the short mail wouldn't send through despite Silabus was online. Haseo was about to short mail Kuhn to ask if he's seen him when he backtracked to the shortmail he was planning to send to Silabus.

"Short mail doesn't respond, and yet he's online. Don't tell me he got lost and landed in a Lost Ground," Haseo gasped. He turned to the Chaos Gate and prepared to warp when he realized, "Crap...just which Lost Ground did he end up at? Don't tell me I'm going to have to check every single one!" Suddenly a voice spoke behind him.

"He isn't at any of the lost grounds." Haseo turned around to see a young boy with horns dressed in all white and accessorized with a giant fan innocently smiling at him.

"Zelkova," Haseo acknowledged. Then the words Zelkova spoke hit him. "Wait what do you mean he's not at the Lost Grounds? Are you talking about Silabus?"

"Yup! He is currently in a special area that you won't be able to reach via communication nor enter yourself," Zelkova explained. "However, I have provided a backroute to the beast statue of that same area. We will be able to meet him there, but only when he reaches the statue himself."

"A special area that isn't a Lost Ground? Tell me what is going on Zelkova, what do you know about Silabus?" Haseo didn't want to shout, but he could never tell for sure what Zelkova plans and if it works out. He was just concerned for his friend, because an area that wasn't a Lost Ground and can only be accessed with Zelkova's help doesn't sound safe for a normal player like Silabus. _And why Silabus of all people?_

"He has something that you currently lack and need in order to move on, Haseo," Zelkova simply stated.

XXXX

"What kind of dungeon is this?" Silabus shouted as he guarded with his sword against an angel monster known as Heavenly Ray. Throughout the entire dungeon, the level of the monsters in each room increases or decreases at random. For the past 5 minutes Silabus went through 3 easy level 10 monsters, and then in the next few minutes, started running into level 75 monsters. Without a cleric or even another party member, Silabus had to give his butt a hard beating in order to keep up with using support and healing items as well as keeping up with the combat in the battle.

But that wasn't all. All of the monsters he's fought in the entire dungeon have been ones he's faced with Haseo at some point or another. And the memory of those times comes back to him after each and every battle. The whole place seemed like deja vu.

"Hyaaa! Devil Sword!" Silabus cried as he floated up into the air and sent a rain of attacks upon the last Heavenly Ray by using his LVL 3 arts skill. Devil Sword is one of Silabus' favorite skills to use, not only because the damage it inflicts is highly significant, but also because it feels like a sort of special connection to Haseo, who also has a level 3 arts.

The monster crumbled and the battle was over. Silabus took a breather for a second. _I wonder how much farther I have to go_, he wondered, _and how much more I'll last; this is the 3__rd__ floor. I bet Haseo would know what to do._

_Haseo...I wonder what he would think if he knew what I was going through right now. Would he be worried? Haseo doesn't seem like the type of guy to worry as much, although he has softened up quite a bit around Gaspard, Atoli, and I lately, so maybe he is worried. But then again he hasn't contacted me since I've entered this place, so I guess not. Maybe he's just busy. _All of these thoughts made Silabus wonder why he decided to come here in the first place. To help Haseo? To become more useful and better at battling? To see if this would help my get better at helping newbies in Canard? All seemed logical, but still nothing made complete sense. What if he was wasting his time here.

"No, there's got to be a reason...Moon Tree's guild master mentioned something about staying true to my own power," Silabus told himself. "I wonder if he was talking about my dream of helping new players have fun while relaxing and enjoying The World. But what does that have to do with this dungeon? I guess I'll find out if I keep going. I just hope Zelkova has enough patience to wait at the pace that I'm going."_  
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Silabus moved on to the next room, which was blocked by a special door that quizzes players about the history of "The World". Being pretty attached to the game, Silabus was able to answer it pretty easily, since as a member of Canard he thought it's important to not only know all the basics of playing "The World" but also the story behind it as a way for the game to seem more fun and meaningful. After Silabus selected his answer, a wave of relief hit him to see the beast statue right ahead of him.

"Alright! I made it!" Silabus cheered as he ran towards it. He was about halfway when suddenly the ground started shaking. "Agh!" Silabus nearly fell over, and then he saw something appear between him and the beast statue. It looked like a shadow being the shape of a particular figure, and as Silabus stared at the being more closely, he noticed and was shocked to see the figure looked exactly like his PC.

Before Silabus could make heads or tails of what was happening, a short mail arrived from Zelkova.

_This is your final battle test before accomplishing your mission to obtain the power that you seek. You must face this designed shadow puppet in order to proceed. Only then will you be able to obtain '"it"._


	3. Chapter 3

(Author's Note: Well sorry for the wait! Here is the final chapter; the plot reaches the important climax of the story, enjoy!)

**XXXX**

"It's a Doppelganger?" Silabus gasped. "But what's it doing here in this dungeon?" As if on cue, a shortmail arrived from Zelkova.

_This is your final task to completing this dungeon. You must defeat your other self, who holds the key to a new form, by using the power that you strongly believe in._

"Power? What power do I have?" Silabus wondered. "I'm not as strong as Haseo."

The doppelganger charged at Silabus, catching him off guard. His HP dropped dangerously low in a second, but Silabus quickly healed himself. Silabus charged in with Devil Sword, but when he slashed his sword the doppelganger took no damage. "What? Not even a scratch!"

Suddenly it took the chance to copy Devil Sword and used it against him. That alone put incredible hits on Silabus and blew him against the dungeon wall. Luckily the doppelganger stopped for moment, standing in place waving its sword wildly around, so Silabus healed again. He wasn't getting anywhere though and he was running out of items and possibly time.

The Doppelganger used Devil Sword again. Silabus was slow to react, and it had him pinned to the wall as it attacked over and over with his blade. Silabus could only defend, and he knew that alone wasn't enough.

_What happens if I lose_, Silabus realized, is this it? _Am I going to lose something important to me. Important...what's important?_ Silabus' memory flashed back to all of the moments he fought beside his guild master of Canard, Haseo. He was always with Haseo by his side, but with his lack of strength did he have the right to be with Haseo? But after all, Silabus IS the one that declared Haseo as their new guild master. Surely Haseo has accepted him as a important companion by now.

But Haseo had something Silabus didn't have, maybe more than one thing. Haseo had leadership, guts, and above all a certain power that seems to draw people near him. And with that power, he is able to protect those he cares about. _I'm nothing like Haseo_, Silabus sighed as he started to feel the ground started shaking again.

"What? What's going on now?" Silabus wondered. The Doppelganger immediately jumped back and started to make an unusual noise.

"HAAAAAAAAAAARGHHHH!" The Doppelganger began to glow until there was an explosion of light. Silabus covered his eyes and everything went dark.

A few seconds later, Silabus opened his eyes to see nothing but pitch-black darkness. _Where...am I?_ He found he couldn't move or change his viewpoint of the game. He wasn't even sure he was still holding his controller. _Did I lose_, Silabus asked himself, _have I fallen into a coma like the rumors. Haseo, will I never see you again?_

"Moron!" Silabus jumped at the sound of a familiar voice. He looked up to see Haseo standing before him with a scowl on his face.

"H-Haseo?" Silabus felt relieved. "It is you! Where are we? What happened to me?" But instead of receiving an answer, Haseo started laughing.

"How pathetic you are! Being on the ground like that," Haseo scoffed. "You're so weak! It's annoying!"

"H-Ha...Haseo..."

"Geez, look at you, trying to look cool and solo a dungeon yourself when you're that low-level. Come on are you that stupid?" Haseo continued laughing. Silabus started to feel crushed hearing such words from his guild master. He thought Haseo had changed and was being nice to his friends lately. Haseo had been smiling more around people and talking to him in a friendly way. Silabus was about to ask why Haseo was saying such things when he noticed something. Haseo's PC was dressed in black armor, and Silabus clearly remembered Haseo's PC is designed in white.

"Wait, you aren't really Haseo, are you?" Silabus exclaimed. Before he could hear and answer, another voice spoke up.

"This is Haseo's personality before he met you." Silabus turned to see the doppelganger he had been fighting earlier appear before him.

"You're...that doppelganger!"_ Since when could doppelgangers talk? And his voice is exactly the same as mine! _"But you don't seem like a normal doppelganger."

"Because I am a reflection of your heart," it spoke. Turning to look at the Haseo PC, "You seem very close to this Player. I can feel it, a very strong connection."

"But Haseo...I guess he doesn't seem to like me very much as a friend."

"This PC before us is a fragment of Haseo's own heart of the past," the doppelganger explained. "The player Haseo would've stayed like this had he not met you. Without you, he would have no change of heart."

"You mean to say...I changed Haseo? But it wasn't just me though."

The doppelganger pointed at Silabus' chest. "How much you changed Haseo was enough. The power I wield comes from that connection, from within your own heart."

"My own heart? So, I've been fighting my own strength all this time?" The doppelganger nodded.

"Yes, and now it is time to receive that strength, and use it to bring forth a new power." The doppelganger along with the past Haseo PC faded away. I see now, Silabus realized, this place is my own consciousness.

_I want to be like Haseo, I want to be able to protect others so that they are able to relax and enjoy the game. That is the duty of a proud Canard guild member._

"Ahhhhhh, Haseo!" Silabus cried and a flash of light exploded in the area.

xxxx

Haseo was beginning to wonder what he got himself into. He agreed to go with Zelkova in order to find Silabus, worrying that his friend got caught up in some abnormal event. But now he switched gears and wondered if he was in something abnormal himself.

"So how do you like my backdoor?" Zelkova asked brightly as he playfully marched beside Haseo. They were in the outer dungeons, an area of The World and a world of its own, just like the Netslum, compiled of AIDA corrosion.

"Zelkova, how did you..." Haseo wanted to ask but cut himself off. Knowing Zelkova, he probably did some pretty skillful hacking._ I wonder what other surprises does Zelkova have more, _he thought. "Never mind, what are you doing with Silabus? How did he get involved in all of this?"

"Are you worried?"

"Well...yeah, sure I am," Haseo scratched his head. "Silabus is just a normal player. He doesn't know anything about AIDA or Avatars for that matter."

"Haseo..." Zelkova took a few steps ahead and turned around to face Haseo. "Do you remember what I told Atoli that day when Moon Tree became an AIDA server?"

It was a while back that Haseo had to think really hard for a moment. "Sort of, something about not being alone or something?"

"Yup. No matter what there will always be friends by your side, moving with you along the path you were forced to take. What I told Atoli goes for you Haseo, you are not alone."

Haseo blushed with slight embarrassment, as friendship wasn't much of his forte. At least, it wasn't back when he used to be a PKK. "Of course I know that..." Haseo muttered. "Gaspard, Atoli, Alkaid...Silabus, they're all important friends . And...Silabus is also..."

"I said earlier that he has something you don't, something in his heart," Zelkova explained. "A emotion that could turn into a power of its own and be able to become a driven force for Silabus to awaken his other half."

"Other half?" Haseo asked.

"You see Haseo, Silabus represents a friendly and always willing to help personality that is easily misunderstood or taken for granted. I'm sure you've seen that kind of character yourself with other PCs."

_Atoli..._

"I'll bet that despite how he appears, Silabus has his own weight of guilt that he carries behind his smile. That guilt would eventually break him apart, and he would lose something he holds very dear, something really important to him."

Haseo was beginning to understand, and at the same time not, what Zelkova is implying. "Something important? Like Canard?"

"Deeper," Zelkova exclaimed and looked at Haseo in the eye. "His connection in The World to you, Haseo."

Haseo turned really red all of a sudden. _Calm down_, he told himself, _he's just talking about Silabus as a friend._

"We're here," Zelkova exclaimed. Haseo looked up to see a green door before them. Zelkova lifted his hand and the door opened. Beams of light shined through from the other side of the door that Haseo covered his eyes. Then he heard a voice shout.

XXXX

"HASEO!" Silabus cried.

"Silabus?" Haseo finally saw his friend before him, but Silabus' PC looked strange. He was glowing a bright green light, but it wasn't an Avatar kind of glow. W-Wha...what is this, Haseo thought. Zelkova smiled as they watched the Blade Brandier before them begin to change. Wait, Haseo realized, I recognize these patterns, it's...

"A job extension," Zelkova answered Haseo's thoughts. "Not as advanced as yours but still quite powerful and handy in times of need."

"Zelkova...did you hack into Silabus' PC? But he isn't an epitaph user or an adept rogue, how can this be?"

"Like I said before, Silabus has a driven force that could awaken his other half, or in other words, his Xth Form. I simply gave that force a bit of a boost and let Silabus' consciousness connect the rest."

Finally the transformation was complete, and Haseo saw his friend with a new look to his PC. Compared to before, Silabus now wore a short cream colored ribbon scarf around his neck, along with a cream colored long sleeved-shirt under his vest, green bracelets over his gloves, and finally a green pirate shaped hat. His shorts and boots were redesigned too.

Silabus opened his eyes and grasped his surroundings, though in a confused state. "Huh? The doppelganger is gone! Ah! What happened to my PC? Huh? Haseo?"

Haseo couldn't help but laugh at the sight. "You sure look like you're having fun," he smirked, crossing his arms.

"What's going on? Why is my PC like this? Is this some type of event? And there was a doppelganger, and-"

"Calm down," Haseo cut him off. "I'm sure Zelkova can tell you everything."

"Zelkova? That's right, Moon Tree's Guild master!"

Zelkova took a step forward and smiled. "Hi there! Congratulations on completing this dungeon and obtaining your new form Silabus! You were great!"

"Eh? New form?" Silabus felt lost.

"It's like a job extension," Haseo helped him out. "Only it's special, since you're a Blade Brandier. Zelkova...added a few changes to your PC."

"I see, okay, I think I'm starting to understand this a little," Silabus nodded, looking from Haseo to Zelkova and back. "But why did I get this form? And what was up with this dungeon?"

"I created it using your battle history with Haseo in order to help you obtain your new form. The whole thing was all a test of the strength of your bond with Haseo. You are after all one of the first people Haseo encountered here in The World."

"Wha-how did you know about that?" Haseo gasped.

"I asked Yata about it!" Zelkova beamed.

"Yata...that bastard..." Haseo muttered. Suddenly Silabus began to laugh. "What's so funny?"

"Haha, sorry, it's just I feel pretty happy about all of this right now. Going through this dungeon, I thought about how much I worried I was always behind in the party, and how I was jealous of you and Atoli because the two of your are much stronger than me."

"Silabus..." Haseo looked deeply at his friend. _That's only because...Atoli and I are epitaph users, and we were kind of forced to become strong._

"Even Gaspard, he's proven himself to be strong at heart by managing the shop, even when he got bullied a lot by PKers back then," Silabus sighed. "Sure I give a lot of support, but I'm nothing special."

"But you are...special," Haseo muttered. "I mean, you must be, choosing someone like me to be the guild master of canard."

Silabus smiled. "Haha, aw come on Haseo, you don't need to praise me like that. I'm sure anyone that gets to know you would say the same thing."

"Yeah yeah," Haseo muttered.

"Say...Haseo? Can I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

"Do you...like me?" Haseo turned completely red and nearly dropped his controller.

"Wha-Wha-What are you saying? Have you gone nuts?"

Silabus blushed a bit himself too for saying that but quickly said, "Oh no I didn't mean it THAT way. I mean...when we first met you were always scowling and seemed to think everybody got on your nerves. Of course now you've become a lot softer around people, but I can't help but think you probably still don't like me, as a friend of course!"

Haseo sighed. "You idiot."

"Haseo..."

Haseo scratched his head and looked up at his friend with slight embarrassment. "Haven't I told you before? I...I need you."

Silabus felt his heart warm up as he heard those words from Haseo's mouth. He couldn't help but smile, "You truly are the best guild master."

"Right...anyway Zelkova, about getting information from Yata-" Haseo turned to the guild master, only to see Zelkova was no longer there. "What the? He's gone!"

"Oh, he must've gated out while we were talking," Silabus realized.

"That guy...doing whatever he pleases and always running off," Haseo growled.

"Oh man! I didn't even get to properly thank him," Silabus sighed.

"Forget it, knowing him Zelkova would've already received his thanks from this dungeon. Looks like he even left a reward chest at the statue," Haseo observed. "Go ahead and open it Silabus."

"Huh? You sure?"

"Of course I'm sure, you're the one that conquered this dungeon, you deserve it," Haseo exclaimed, crossing his arms.

"That's right...I did conquer this dungeon! I did it by myself!" Silabus cheered with sudden excitement. He hurried over to open the chest, but when he did, "Huh?"

"What is it?" Haseo asked coming up behind him.

"It's empty..." Silabus leaned forward to examine it more closely, and when he did a light flashed from within the box. "Wahh!" The light shot out of the chest in the form of a small orb and attached to Silabus' sword. Once the light was gone, Silabus saw he was holding a brand new sword.

"That's...heh, looks like Zelkova had one more trick up his sleeve," Haseo smirked.

"This weapon..." Silabus realized, this weapon is the symbol of the power of my friendship. Its stats were way higher than any weapon Silabus has ever used. "Haseo!" Silabus turned to face his favorite guild master and most important companion. "Haseo, together with this new form, I will do my best to give my support in The World so that everyone can relax and enjoy it!"

Haseo smiled. "Yeah, lets go, everyone is waiting for us." Together, they gated out.

_Haseo, you used to take on everything yourself and push away others trying to help you. But now you say you need us and begin to open up little by little. Both personalities are you, and together forms the real you. The Haseo that I will forever admire and follow as my guild master._

_- Silabus_

~Fin~


End file.
